PTA Spring Update - May 2021

Exciting news about the playground improvements!

We are hugely thrilled and excited to announce that we are very close to signing off a deal to execute the playground improvements at the Webb's location. Meteor was very fortunate to have had their playgrounds developed with the help of the PTA several years ago and we are pleased to say that Webb’s is now catching up. Plans will include three fabulous new structures in EACH of the playgrounds, new flooring in some areas, additional planting and artwork. This is an enormous undertaking in terms of planning, construction and expense.

We have been very lucky to have run many successful events prior to the lockdowns, which means we have been able to call on these funds to not only pay for our typical investments and recent new ones (details below), but also to nearly pay for the playground development.

The playground refurbishment will cost a whopping c£100k. Between the playground and the annual fixed expenditures that we incur each and every year, we have a shortfall of around £33k. We have £97k in the bank - made up of income from previous events such as the Promises Auction in 2019, the fairs, discos, quiz, summer party etc - and we need around £30k a year to honour our annual commitments (music, leavers, educational material). But fear not, as we have some plans to fill this gap and you will all be instrumental in making Belleville the best it can be, by getting involved as usual.

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Fundraising and Investments Update

This year we have been able to raise over £17,000. While this achievement is to be celebrated, the fact is this is a drastic drop in revenue as compared to previous years. Despite this, we have managed to fund several great initiatives for our children:

Now Press Play We are pretty sure your children will have mentioned this much loved educational resource. Headsets with an immersive audio / drama experience are provided for every year group. Children listen to the sounds of an air raid when studying WW2 as they imagine life as an evacuee, hearing the rumble of Vesuvius and the concern of Londoners during the Great Fire of London - for example. Getting a taste of these experiences bring their lessons to life.

Music Programme We are one of very few state schools to offer professional music lessons to the extent that we do. We employ Wandsworth Music to loan instruments and teach every Year 4 child how to read music and play an instrument with weekly lessons. In a normal year - this ends with a concert at the Royal Festival Hall.

Home learning kits These were the very well-received packs of paper, pens, pencils, white boards, text books etc provided during lockdown.

Digital thermometers Used by the school to check the temperature of children.

Year 6 Leavers For every child’s final year, the PTA have a host of events and souvenirs to mark the end of their primary school life. Many have been at Belleville from being 3 years old and we like to send them off with as many happy memories as possible. This year is of course a bit different due to the separate bubbles but the school are doing what they can (they have some plans that they will be sharing) and the PTA are working closely with them.

• Hoodies: As it stands all year 6 children will be able to order a leaver’s hoody for which we will ask for a contribution / donation to be paid online.

• Souvenir and disco: They will all each get a personalised gift and we very much hope to be able to go ahead with a disco for the whole year. Provisional date of 22 July at 5.30pm - please pencil it in!

• Picnic: Following the flash mob dance there will be a Y6 picnic held on Wandsworth Common for parents and kids to all come together for one last time - off school premises. The PTA will bring a treat for every child.

Here is a breakdown of the investments and money raised this school year, so far:

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Upcoming PTA Events

So, things have started to look up finally and we are all getting back into the swing of school life again. But while things have improved, obviously they aren’t fully the same - school clubs aren’t back to normal and sadly, lots PTA-run events have been affected.

Normally by now, we would have had the Quiz, Discos, Fun Run, Easter Bake, Film Nights and the parents' Summer Party. And we are very disappointed to not have the Summer Fair again this year. School didn’t think it wise to risk this, even following any potential lift in restrictions. We are looking into possible smaller scale alternatives.

We have been working hard to adjust our fundraising and community-building events. We have some fun activities happening in the next weeks and months:

Belleville Recipe Book We are thrilled to announce that we will be producing a beautifully illustrated recipe book that will embrace the very international nature of our school. Please have a think of a tried and tested savoury family favourite to submit. We will be requesting them soon. I think we could all do with some variety to our meal times these days!

Belleville Running Challenge

As you will have seen from the Classlist chats, the Fun Run has not been able to happen this year, but we are however looking into another way to get families running for fun and funds - so stay tuned to Classlist for updates.

Belleville’s Got Talent The fun-filled event where our children can show off their talents and have a great time too. The PTA are currently in talks with the school about how we can run it this year - taking into account school bubbles and safety measures. It is likely that auditions will be via short video clips and will include every year except nursery. Communications will be via Classlist so please keep an eye out for submission criteria and deadlines coming soon.

Summer Raffle We are going to run another fabulous summer raffle along the same lines as the Easter raffle, with a few AMAZING prizes that we will all want to get our hands on! Details to be revealed soon.

Playground Donation Mural We are planning to make a donation mural which will run alongside our new and fabulous play area where the current quiet area is now. There is a wall there where a stunning mural will be made and each one of you will get the chance to bid on a piece of it. The bigger the bid, the bigger the image that will bear your initial (or of course, you can remain anonymous). So for example £20 might buy you the image of a butterfly and £1,000 would get you a big oak tree.

These are some examples of the events we have been working on to fill the gap we have. We are also looking at sponsorship for our various initiatives.

The PTA is every parent, for every child. Everything we do is to improve the life of our children - both educationally and socially. Please support the initiatives by getting involved as always and by donating what you can - be it time or cash. Thank you!